Now, two years later, he heads the Michigan Protectors, a group of around 10 real-life superheroes that have set up chapters in cities all over the state, including Detroit, Flint, Ann Arbor and Lansing.

“Each person has a thing that they try to become a superhero,” Arsenul said.

For Arsenul, his goal as a superhero is to reach out to the homeless and watch for crime in his community.

“We’re mostly concerned citizens,” said Arsenul.

However, that doesn’t mean that Arsenul and his band of superheroes, many whom have crafted their own homemade costumes, won’t step in to stop crime when they see it happening.

“We dress up as superheroes and do wear body armor,” Arsenul said. “We don’t really care if we get hurt as long as we help the person.”

And it’s this call to action that has some in the law enforcement community concerned.

The office of Emmet County Prosecutor James Linderman prosecuted "Petoskey Batman" in 2011 for trespassing and possessing a dangerous weapon.

"I get a little worried of a superhero running around trying to help police," Linderman said.

The prosecutor said a number of problems could arise when people try to take the law into their own hands.

“Bad things can happen to the superhero,” said Linderman, adding that the hero could be injured in a confrontation. “We’re fortunate nobody got hurt.”

Although he wasn't injured, one Michigan superhero hasn’t been so lucky.

“Bee Sting,” a 36-year-old crime fighter from Sterling Heights was arrested in a Burton trailer park early Thursday morning and is facing felony charges after a run-in with a motorcyclist.

Authorities allege Besso, dressed as Bee Sting in black and yellow with a matching mask, pulled a shotgun on a motorcyclist during a dispute over how loud the bike was. During the confrontation, the shotgun went off and struck a vacant mobile home.

Mike Dunn, a full-time professor at Cooley Law School and former defense attorney, said intervening as a crime fighter could find someone in a mess of legal trouble, much like Bee Sting finds himself in.

Michigan law only allows people to use lethal force in self-defense of themselves or others if lethal force is being used against them, according to Dunn. So these self-appointed caped crusaders run the risk of jail time if they step in to help somebody and use excessive force.

“These people are taking affirmative steps forward to search out trouble,” Dunn said.

Tom Carter didn't know what to think when a masked man outside his trailer said something to him Thursday.

"As soon as I saw the gun I was thinking I didn't want my kids to get shot."

View full size(Ryan Garza | MLive.com)Tom Carter, 38, of Burton, talks about the shotgun pulled on him by Adam 'Bee Sting' Besso, 36, of Sterling Heights, after Besso approached the man in a Burton mobile home park around midnight, telling him his motorcycle was too loud. The confrontation turned physical and, according to police, Besso pulled a gun that was discharged in the scuffle, hitting a nearby mobile home.
Besso was arraigned by Genesee District Judge Larry J. Stecco on Friday for assault with a dangerous weapon and wearing body armor during a commission of a violent crime.

Carter grabbed the barrel of the shotgun and the two scuffled until police arrived.

"Nobody
got hurt, thank God," said Carter. "I didn't do anything wrong. They
questioned me and let me go. It's so crazy that I got no sleep that
night.

"I'm
not looking for a superhero in my trailer park... Just because we live in a trailer park
doesn't make us less human and we're not going to let people come in
here giving us a bad name."

After coming home from Iraq, she said, Besso still had an urge to serve. In a YouTube video in which Besso reveals Bee Sting to the world, he addressed his reason for choosing the life of a superhero.

"I get people that ask me, 'Why not re-enlist? Why not become a cop? Why not run for office to change things for the better? To them I say, 'Isn't that what we already have? Government bureaucracy? Everything, everyone, trying to make a quick buck for themselves?" he said, speaking in a gravelly voice.

"That's ridiculous," said Simmons, 51. "Call the cops or something instead of trying to do something yourself."

A few blocks from the trailer park is Comic Relief, a store full of superhero memorabilia.

The
customers inside were slightly more sympathetic toward Besso and much
more amused by the incident, but weren't exactly supportive of the
"real-life superhero" lifestyle.

"I understand what he was doing
and I'm sure he had good intentions, but he's probably not the smartest
person," said Blaine Simon, 21, of Swartz Creek.

"I think it's
sad that people feel they have to take it into their own hands because
there aren't enough police," said Alan Bradshaw, 23, of Grand Blanc
Township.

"But he probably should have seen someone before he started doing that."

Among Bee Sting's feats, Wilson said, are helping homeless people get off the street and escorting young women on a college campus from classes to dormitories at night to raise awareness about rape prevention.

On another night out as Bee Sting, Wilson said he and other members of the Michigan Protectors came across a drug house and decided to investigate. Wilson said Besso and his fellow heroes took all the drug-making equipment and paraphernalia out of the house.

Bruce Stein, owner of the Burton mobile home park, said Bee Sting isn't the only superhero roaming around the area waiting to stop would-be villains.

Stein said he initially gave permission for a different superhero to patrol the park but said more masked crime fighters soon found their way there.

Stein said the superheroes first came to the park following a string
of arsons. Roughly two dozen trailers have been torched in the park
since September.

Two people are currently facing charges for those blazes.

"They were self-appointed," Stein said of the superheros. "Up until the other night they really haven't had any issues."

Now, the heroes' futures at the park is in jeopardy.

Bee Sting’s status with the Michigan Protectors is also in jeopardy.

Arsenul said the Michigan Protectors need to work within the law, adding that they seldom actually make contact with criminals.

“The only time we’ll be handling a criminal is if there is a fight or something and the police can’t get there,” Arsenul said.

On Friday, Arsenul cut ties with Bee Sting via Facebook, leaving the masked crime fighter to battle his legal and villain problems on his own.

“For all of you, I'm denouncing Bee Sting as a member of the Michigan Protectors,” Arsenul posted. “ As far as I'm concerned he isn't a RLSH (real-life super hero) anymore.

“The moment he brought a shotgun loaded with slugs, that moment he did something majorly illegal. He gave all RLSH a bad name and he gave the Michigan Protectors a bad name.”